For many years the public has been very concerned about tampering with packages which contain medicines, food, and the like. "Tampering" involves an unauthorized opening or invasion of a package for any purpose by someone before the purchasing consumer has opened the package for the first time for the purpose of using its contents. It is agreed that the consumer who purchases a package has a right to be confident about the amount and purity of the contents of the package--that is, that no one has tampered with it.
Considerable attention has been given for a long time to the problem of providing such confidence to consumers. However, within the last few years a number of highly publicized poisoning deaths due to undetected tampering with medicine containers and the resulting criminal investigations have greatly raised the level of concern.
Tampering can occur in many ways and on many kinds of packages. One principal type of tampering involves packages including containers having generally cylindrical necks and generally cylindrical cylindrical closures over such necks. Tampering with such packages most frequently involves an unauthorized removal of the closure, consumption or treatment of a portion of the contents, and replacement of the closure.
It is generally recognized that it may be impossible to prevent tampering. Thus, the word "tamperproof" is in a sense an overstatement; perhaps "tamper-evident" is more appropriate. In any event, the term "tamperproof" as used herein refers to the existence of means to provide an indication that a package has previously been opened and/or that an opening by the purchasing consumer is or is not the initial opening.
Many tamperproof devices have been made for containers of the type having cylindrical necks and closures, such as medicine containers and the like. There are a great number and a great variety of tamperproof characteristics, arrangements and mechanisms for containers of this type. Some of such prior tamperproof devices serve their intended purposes adequately while others have functional shortcomings.
Certain of these tamperproof devices are complex, expensive, and/or occasionally difficult to operate. Many include tear-away strips or locking members the removal of which is necessary in order to open the container. These and other tamperproof features are often external features which can detract from the appearance of the package.
There is a need for an improved tamperproof package of the type usable for medicines and the like which does not require external functional elements detracting from its appearance. There is a need for an improved tamperproof package of the type described which is simple to produce, assemble, and use.